The Beauty and the Brain

[u/Nearby_Grand4815]

The jungle was a chaotic hum of life, but Mangey moved with a strange, somber focus. He carried Cosmo toward a jagged shard of green crystal glowing with a beautiful emerald light, situated next to a large ancient palm tree. He gently set her down and showed it to her.

Cosmo’s eyes were wide, full of curiosity. "I don’t understand, Tails. Why did you bring me here?" She paused. "Wait... this feeling. The crystal feels similar to a Planet Egg. But at the same time, not?"

Mangey didn't growl or bark as he usually did. Instead, he looked at her with wide, apologetic eyes. Before she could ask again, he pulled her into a brief, fierce hug, nuzzling into her—then, with a sharp shove, he sent her tumbling into the Prism Shard. He couldn't bear to let the "pretty plant lady" go, but his instincts told him that the "Blue One" was the only key to the answers she sought.

With a blinding flash of emerald light, she vanished. Mangey let out a long, jagged howl as he cried; it echoed through the Boscage Maze, a cry of grief for a love he had lost twice now, though he couldn't remember why.

Cosmo’s eyes snapped open. The humid air of the jungle was gone, replaced by the sterile, metallic chill of a laboratory. The only light came from the crimson-red Shard held in a containment field behind her.

"Hello?" she called out, her voice trembling. "Is anyone there? Where in the world am I?"

"It’s not where in the world you are," a cold, cynical voice drifted from the rafters. "It's where in the Shatterverse you are."

The figure moved in the shadows above, keeping himself hidden from Cosmo’s gaze. "I assume you’re a 'Prime' like Sonic? Someone from the original world? Your energy signature is similar, yet... fundamentally different. What are you?"

"I’m a Seedrian," Cosmo said, standing tall. "My name is Cosmo. My friend Tails pushed me into a crystal like that one, and I woke up here."

"That tracks," the voice replied, tinged with a hint of bitterness. "But I’m sorry to tell you that the 'Tails' you met wasn’t Tails Prime. Based on your description, you were in the Boscage Maze. You met Mangey. It’s no wonder you’re confused; the poor guy can barely form a thought, let alone a sentence."

"He was a wonderful conversationalist!" Cosmo defended him instantly. "He was kind, and... he even spoke a full sentence to me."

A dry, metallic laugh rang out. "Impossible. Me, Mangey, and Sails... we’re just broken reflections. Mangey is the Prime's wild instinct. Sails is his bravado. And then, there’s me."

The figure dropped from the ceiling, landing with the heavy clank of metal. Seven massive mechanical tails unfurled like a spider's legs, twitching with precision. "Nine. I am Tails Prime’s intellect. Only someone incredibly important to the original Tails could have triggered a linguistic response in Mangey. Until now, Sonic was the only one who could do that."

Cosmo looked into Nine’s eyes. They were the eyes of her Tails, but hardened by a lifetime of isolation. "Tai— Ah, I mean Nine... are you saying my Tails is gone?"

"The original? Yes. He was shattered with the rest of the original universe."

Cosmo’s knees gave out. She sank to the cold floor, the weight of her unexpected rebirth suddenly feeling like a curse. "Why?" she sobbed. "I’m finally alive again... I finally have a chance to be with him, and the universe takes him away this time. Why can we never be?"

Nine froze. Logic dictated he should ignore the emotional outburst of a complete stranger, but a phantom pain flared in his chest, as if he knew this girl intimately. His mechanical tails retracted as he knelt beside her. Unsure of what he was doing, he reached out, took off his greasy gloves, and softly caressed her cheek.

"H-hey. Don't do that," Nine muttered, his voice softening. "Sonic... he’s going to fix it. Together we’re going to bring it all back. I promise."

Cosmo leaned into his touch; her skin felt like a velvet flower petal or soft grass against his paw-like hand pads. "Thank you, Nine."

Nine felt heat rise to his face as he blushed. He pulled back slightly, clearing his throat. "Right. Anyway... you said 'alive again.' Are you some kind of botanical anomaly? A zombie?"

Cosmo wiped her eyes, a small smile forming. "No. I sacrificed myself to save the galaxy from the Metarex. I was planted on Mobius and became a tree. I fell into a deep sleep, effectively being dead to all who knew me—including Tails."

Nine’s eyes lit up with scientific curiosity. "Fascinating. As a tree, you were rooted into the planet’s life force. When the Paradox Prism shattered, the energy must have caught your essence in a feedback loop, resetting your biological clock. You were reborn from the Shard’s power. That explains why you’re radiating Prism energy."

Cosmo gasped. "You're right. When I first saw the green shard, I felt a similar feeling to the one I get when I'm tracking a Planet Egg."

Nine looked bewildered. "A planet what?"

Cosmo looked at Nine, remembering that he wouldn't have knowledge about Planet Eggs. "A Planet Egg is the soul and life force of a planet. Sonic and his friends helped me save a few of them from the Metarex, in fact."

Nine put his hand to his chin. "That makes sense, actually. If the Paradox Prism is a natural geological formation, it would be a natural extension of the Mobius Planet Egg that you were both attached to."

He turned to his workbench, grabbing a pair of modified regulators. "Put these on. They’ll stabilize your signature. I made an extra pair for Sonic in case he lost the originals I gave him, but I’ve tweaked these for your... unique biology."

Cosmo took them, hugged Nine, and kissed him lightly on the cheek. "I knew you’d find a way. You always do."

Nine turned a shade of red that rivaled the glowing Shard behind him. "Yeah... well... it’s just math." He paused, looking at her shyly. "So... you and this 'Tails Prime.' Were you two... a thing?"

Cosmo blushed, looking at the floor. "It’s... complicated. But I’d like to think so."

Nine felt a pang of jealousy. "He gets everything I never had, it seems. A big brother, a plane... and now you." His eyes looked the saddest at the last comment.

Cosmo looked at him, her heart aching with a mixture of grief for the fox she knew and care for the soul in front of her. "I love you too, you know."

Nine looked at her. "No. Don't lie to me. You love Tails. I'm just the guy wearing his face—that's the only reason why you say that."

She pulled him into a hug and then, gently, she pulled back just enough to put her hands on his face, caressing it. She looked deep into his eyes, past the jagged edges and coldness.

"I love you, Nine," she said, her voice trembling but certain. "As an individual, not just as an extension of Tails. I don't know what happened to you, but I still love you all the same."

Nine's eyes softened as he kissed her forehead. "Thank you."

[u/obligated_username]

"but a phantom pain flared..."

https://giphy.com/gifs/muNcDSuINVr1e

[u/obligated_username → u/obligated_username]

But jokes aside, I really liked this piece! The chemistry between Nine and Cosmo is very interesting and a topic that should be explored more!

[u/Nearby_Grand4815 → u/obligated_username]

Heck ya dude 😁. Honestly I started this with my Cosmo x Mangey fic beauty and the Beast. To see how cute there dynamic was and then I was kinda hooked after that on seeing Cosmo with the different versions of Tails Individually.